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Arnold R. Ginsburg, 94, Attorney, Wide-Ranging Communal Leader

Arnold R. Ginsburg, 94, a Philadelphia attorney and local and national Jewish communal leader, died June 24 at his Center City home.

Born in Philadelphia, Ginsburg was honored in June 2010 as the longest practicing lawyer in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Bar Association, where he'd held many committee positions over the years.

Ginsburg was a graduate of Central High School and Gratz College, and went on to earn his undergraduate and law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He continued his studies with post-graduate law at Harvard Law School earning a Masters in Law.

He was recruited from Harvard by the Securities and Exchange Commission and was the principal attorney for the Solicitor's Office for several years. In his 71-year career, he argued several cases before the Supreme Court and was author of the landmark SEC fraud law 10B5.

In the communal sphere, he was involved with the Zionist Organization of America locally and nationally. His positions ranged from delegate to the World Zionist Congress to national vice president. He also served as president of the Philadelphia Zionist Organization.

Over the years, he wrote editorials on communal issues for the Philadelphia Jewish Times. He was a leader of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia, the Federation of Jewish Charities of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Allied Jewish Appeal Youth Campaign.

He was also an avid educator who taught Bar Mitzvah lessons for many years at Congregation Adath Jeshurun and Temple Keneseth Israel. He was acting lay chaplain for the Jewish Welfare Society, conducting religious services at Eastern State Penitentiary, Holmesburg County Prison, Mt. Sinai Hospital and the Philadelphia Naval Hospital from 1943 to 1948.

Ginsburg is survived by his wife, the former Marilyn Moore Russin; sons Leonard Ginsburg and Kenneth Ginsburg; sister Beatrice Engelsberg; and seven grandchildren.